My Birthday, His Bucket List

For my birthday a few months ago, M gave me a seaplane trip that took us from Rose Bay over Sydney Harbor and up the coast of the Northern Beaches to Palm Beach with Sydney Seaplanes. When I opened it I thought, "hmm...kinda cool but also kinda funny b/c that is sooo something he would like way more than me, whatev!"  Then I found out you stop at Jonah's Whale Beach for lunch and I was a bit more interested, but still not a believer. When we had to cancel a few times for weather I was mildly but not wildly disappointed. Finally, our third rebook was a charm.

This was the best day ever. If this is not on your Sydney/LIFE bucket list it needs to be. NOW. I am a believer. This was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The people at Sydney Seaplane are so nice and professional. They acted like they run their business to cater to our needs only. I felt like a contestant on a fantasy reality dating show being whisked from one glamour destination to another, all except for the part where I have to make out on national television with a stranger.

On the boat transfer from the seaplane to the mini bus that was waiting to whisk us up to Jonah's.

Jonah's Whale Beach, an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING meal. 

Another view from Jonah's

Barrenjoey Lighthouse Palm Beach

If you need more than a postcard worthy sunshine day seaplane flight over beautiful lush beaches and iconic architecture with a gourmet lunch in between. Then we can also offer... WHALES!!! WHALES!!! WHALES!!! We saw 5 whales on the trip back to Sydney!

Humpback whales migrating from Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef. This sighting took my breath away. Funny...I worried I may not see these beautiful 52' 30-50 ton animals, that I would somehow miss these petite little creatures! Their heart alone weights 430lbs. No binoculars needed when these beauties surface. Keep in mind we had no time to zoom and these pics were taken from a little less than 1000'.

Ace in the Hole or Stupid Stupid Mermaids!

He won't let us get near his face so there is a bit of
"chockit" on the right and chin

It turns out a baby with a bloody lip is the ace in the hole that trumps all other patients waiting at the only medical practice within 15km that is still open at 1:30pm on a Sunday on a holiday weekend.

We were getting ready to leave the very boring and very small so glad I did not pay $50 for my family to get in Manly Aquarium when the boys insisted on going upstairs where the Mermaid Show had just ended. Apparently, the mermaids like to party and were splashing around wildly as the floor was wet and slick, which we realized too late. (I will not get into how much I hate hate hate centurions, anyway) CH slipped and bumped his bottom but was no worse for the wear. Not a minute later CM slipped, fell forward and caught the corner of a wooden bench with his mouth and cheek. Blood blood and more blood cam rushing out. He was screaming, I was terrified and panicked, he fell right in front of me, I saw the whole thing happen but I could do nothing to stop it.  Plus I could not get the bleeding under control to even see where it was coming from. Some nice ladies kept handing me wipes and offering medical advice in very broken English that I could not hear over the screaming. Something about sticking toilet paper to it, I think, then they had me convinced a piece of lettuce on the ground was a tooth, not really helping me and my panic. One other lady walked by and said "holy sh*****t... can we help?" Once we saw the cut we thought stitches and were off to the car, in the rain, up 1000 slick steps, to hit the nearest hospital. Then like magic, the fountain of hemoglobin turned off. I called our Dr., they were closing and they recommend The Warringah Mall Medical Center.

We walked in and I thought Sh&^, we are going to be here until dinner. There were probably 50 people waiting, there were broken bones, black eyes, and all kinds of crazy. I had barely put my credit card away when we were told to follow/sprint behind the Dr. to the back. Even when CH broke his arm we were not back that quick. So, I said we followed the Dr back, I could not be 100% certain this man was indeed a Dr., he could have just as easily have been the curmudgeonly host/owner at your local favorite restaurant, that you put up with just because the food is so good. Same deal, we put up with him because he was the only man outside a hospital ER that had access to purple facial superglue on a Sunday afternoon. When we asked about after care, like if he could get it wet, should we use a triple antibiotic, clean it, etc? He replied..."hmm..??? maybe just no hot tea." "What? No hot tea? How will my two and a half year old wake up and start his day without a cuppa Earl Grey? This is madness, Dr.!"

He is doing great today. A little swollen and bruised, and a little grouchier at times than usual, yelling at a group of pretty ladies on the crowded monorail to not hold "his handle" and telling me to not sit on "his seat."(debatable whether we can blame the ouchy for his grouchy).

This little incident made me realize I need to toughen up and get my shiz together. I am the Mom of two very active boys and I let a fountain of blood paralyze me. I am kidding myself if I think that is the worst I am going to see, I pray it is. I pray for their safety continuously. But, I need to be prepared. A friend took a class that told her to take Saran Wrap everywhere, that would have totally not helped at all, but a little knowledge would have.

More livin'

We will go to any park or playground, anywhere, any place, anytime. What draws us in time and time again is a guarantee of a wide open space, possible play equipment and the knowledge that the use of our favorite voice the "outside voice" will always be permitted. This is an area where recreating a WWF scene with your brother or best mate or just met mate is welcome, where screaming is ok, where dirt is good, where quiet and clean are bad, this is our safe place.


So, after enjoying the fruits of 100 years of Australia at Centennial Park we decided we would be remiss by not checking out what 200 years could look like at Bicentennial Park and Blackwattle Bay Park on Glebe foreshore. The playground at Bicentennial Park is so great. It is fenced and has heaps of equipment that you don't see everywhere, like diggers, crazy bridges, roller slides, boats and some moving bench that seem to be very dangerous as kid after kid toppled off in a flourish. You can walk the foreshore forever. Eventually running into another playground with a relic from the 80's a merry go round. You won't see one of the jewels on an overly sanitized you have no grounds to sue me all the equipment here is plastic and perfect American playground This one looked like you needed a tetanus shot to jump on. And of course my kids could have gone all day, lucky for them I brought my port a tetanus kit so it was no problem. If you make it off the MGR without a trip to the ER then you can keep walking and enjoy some very special waterfront architecture and eventually the Blackwattle Cafe. This place was packed, I would think bookings would be essential, also essential, being with kids who were not as we call it, "past the point of no return." If you have to ask what the point of no return is, well, you have never been there and explaining this dark scary roller coaster place would be fruitless. If "the point of no return" peaks your interest then we are always looking for sitters. 


As a side note, 200 years was apparently really something to get excited about as there are more than 3 Bicentennial Parks in Greater Sydney. To be fair, once you see where their convict ancestors were left to "give it a go" making it at all is quite an accomplishment. 

If you were thinking he is thinking of all the ways he can say, "I love you," you don't have toddlers! 

I would buy ten of these and change the family room to a sandpit if they would love them as much as they did at the park.

Ahhh...his smile melts me!

Sydney is so full of beautiful spaces

The Harbor Bridge looks so little tucked under the Anzac at this angle. What a sight, a luxury yacht, The Anzac Bridge and the Harbor Bridge.

Even doggies can get in on the action at their own doggie beach

JOY!

You thought I was exaggerating about the tetanus thing, huh? Now your thinking where can I get  one of those port a tetanus kits?

Get busy livin'

There is so much to see in Sydney and admittedly I have been in a routine rut, you know the kind where you do the same thing all the time because it is easy and sometimes you are just too tired/lazy/apathetic to make a big adventure out of every weekend. This rut and it's drawbacks were drilled into my head this weekend when we visited Centennial Park...for the first time in 9 months of living here...how LAME are we?!? Well no more! It is time to get busy livin' and not waste another minute of life down unda! I maybe too busy to blog...naaah...how will I know it happened if I don't blog it?


So...Centennial Park! What a treasure! Seriously, The "Central Park" of Sydney and I just made it here. Again, Lame! Lame LAME OF ME! You could spend all day here or all weekend although I suspect they would frown upon you sleeping here. There is so much to see and do, we ran the FLAT grand circle a couple of times, you could take a pony ride, rent a bike, rent a crazy 4 person bike where two people do the peddling and the little ones kickback in the front basket(so when you tire of pushing their combined 75lbs in the jogger you can change torture methods), play cricket, BBQ, fish, take your dog on an off leash bush walk, play on the multiple playgrounds! I could go on all day, about the things that are available to do! It was great! Crazy Bikes and Ponies are up for our next visits! And I am adding this to my tourists must see list!

So, obviously not my pictures, they are way too good to be mine, a picture from their website, but we did see their cousins, the duck family parading around and we saw horses jumping, ponies trotting, doggies swimming and all of nature frolicking! 

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In Living Color

The Vivid Festival is cool. REALLY REALLY COOL. If you live in Sydney you need to go. Period/FULL STOP! Don't miss the Sony Lounge or the singing bugs inside the OH(they are easy to miss). The boys brought sexy back on the retro light up 70's dance floor. I think it was supposed to be a "cool" area, we ruined it's street cred. We will be back again before this ends!

Riding the ferry...INTO THE CBD...at NIGHT! This is big time!  

Dinner at Appetito in the Rocks...not the best meal you will ever, have but one of the better in the Rocks(not saying much)...they are quick for the kiddos

Leaving shadows by the MOCA

The Sydney Jewish Museum

I have struggled to put this post together because it is very heavy on my heart. I seem to do better writing about silly, funny, and absurd things that don't matter much than really tough serious and emotional things. A few weeks ago while on the Hop On Hop Off tour with my parents we "hopped off" at The Sydney Jewish Museum. This museum is a must do. The unique part of this museum is that all of the tour guides are survivors of the Holocaust. I found this to be an extremely moving experience. I could not pull myself away from our guide. She gave factual information and then she told her personal story.  I had a hard time holding back my emotions listening to her.  I have visited the Holocaust Museum in DC and although the Sydney Museum is tiny in comparison, the opportunity to stand in front of a survivor and have them tell you about what you are seeing in the displays and what they actually saw and experienced is immeasurable, it is priceless. I went without my children and will not take them for many years. When they are mature enough I feel like this is a message they must hear.

http://www.sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/Home/default.aspx

One man's dim sum is another man's yum cha

 We happened to be sightseeing in Chinatown/Darling Harbor on a Sunday so we seized the opportunity to indulge in yum cha (dim sum in the States). To me this is one of the greatest ways for a group to dine out together. There is constant activity, you get to try new things, the kids are entertained by the passing of carts and the flurry of bamboo baskets. It promotes conversation as you discuss, what you are eating(if anyone actually knows) what you liked, loved, hated and you do not have to decide your entire culinary fate in one step and you get to see everything before you order it. Think how many meals gone wrong this would have saved you and how many you would have done differently had you know what the actual meal looked like vs. what was on the menu. You can move through cravings and whims like a two year old. I want that and that and that and poof instant gratification. We went to a decent restaurant, Emperor's Garden. I am sure there are way better but this is where we ended up and we had a great time! I attached a link to a  list of SMH top ten, this way next time I am in the yum cha state of mind I will be in the know! One thing is confounding to me, if it is a "Chinese word/phrase" then why is it different in US English vs. Aussie English?

I smuggled nuggets in, there was no need as he was happily shoveling down green beans. On second thought, between two children we managed to annihilate 16 nuggets, 1/2 family serve of green beans, 1/2 bowl of rice. This is after banana rama mania, where just a half hour earlier they devoured 8 small bananas. Be afraid, be very afraid when you invite us to dinner!

                                                                              

CH attempts to "hug it out"

                                   

Someone has to protect the delicious little Emperor's Puffs at Emperor's Garden Cake and Pastry Shop! At just $1 for 4 tasty hot and now custard buns this could get ugly! 

The Tall Ship

We bought Momo and Big Daddy a cruise on the Tall Ship. Apparently, it was not so good. WAY Too crowded, no lights, no tables, steep stairs to the bar, stingy barman, not even enough room to eat your dinner. If you have friends and family in town skip the tall ship!

Back in the saddle

After emergency eye surgery and "posturing" for three days Big Daddy was back on the tourist circuit. 

Big Daddy and "my Little Daddy" at Watsons Bay Hotel, where you can not, no matter how drunk you are, stay the night.

Park by WBH

Watsons Bay

Harbor Bridge Pylon Climb. Great little museum on the way up

Never gets old. Sydney could be the prettiest city in the WORLD!

Whatever it is they are doing it can not be good! I can tell by their conspiratory body language!

MOMO and BIG DADDY come to my new house!

Lunch at Burnt Orange

Walking with my Big Daddy

Momo has endless patience for reading stories

Funny ad in Manly, Gaddafi in a floral shirt with ukulele, "Like Me, Everything Must Go"

Manly Corso

 Manly Beach with three Manly Men

In Sydney you are never too young for a flat white addiction. 

This was one(really just juice) was enjoyed at The Bower on the walk to Shelley Beach

Sky Safari!!!!

Meow

"Big Daddy, where are du?" See the next blog entry.

CM picked his outfit, this is his favorite shirt, 

when he wears it he tells everyone"I look so coot." Truth to be told it his brothers shirt in size 24 mo. He wants to dress his brother too, and really likes to wear matching outfits so he tries to persuade him to wear the 18 mo. shirt. I hold it up to CH, who is soundly in size 3/4 and sometimes 5, and he emphatically says, "NO, NO too small, I pick other shirt, Mommy." Since he is such a love he always waits until CM leaves the room to make his clothing decision.

Taking pictures of twin toddlers is like herding cats